Hospital sued over alleged failure to address doctor sexual abuse complaints

Lawsuits Against Kadlec Regional Medical Center Over Alleged Sexual Abuse by Physician

Two lawsuits have been filed against Kadlec Regional Medical Center, alleging that the institution failed to take reasonable steps to protect patients from alleged sexual abuse by one of its physicians, Dr. Mark Mulholland. These legal actions come amid ongoing concerns about Mulholland’s conduct and the response of the medical facility to previous complaints.

Dr. Mulholland, who has a long history with the clinic, has already faced charges of unprofessional conduct from the Washington Medical Commission. The commission accused him of making inappropriate comments and exhibiting behavior toward women at the Richland Kadlec obstetrics and gynecology clinic. However, no public response from Mulholland regarding these allegations has been made available.

The lawsuits were filed in Washington's King County Superior Court on Tuesday, July 29. They name several defendants, including Kadlec, Providence Health & Services (which is affiliated with Kadlec), Kadlec Clinic - Associated Physicians for Women, where Mulholland worked, and Mulholland himself.

One of the suits was filed by a patient who was treated by Mulholland in June 2023. According to the lawsuit, she alleges that Mulholland sexually abused her during this visit. The allegations include making sexually grotesque comments, pressing her down on the examination table, and penetrating her with his fingers in a sexual manner. She also claims that he refused to remove his fingers despite her repeated requests. This case was brought forward by the law firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala of Seattle.

The patient reportedly filed a complaint with the Washington Medical Commission earlier this month. In her statement, she described feeling deeply violated and unsafe. Her husband and 3-year-old daughter were present in the examination room but were told to sit where they could not see what was happening. After the doctor left, she raised concerns with her husband, and they discussed the incident further when they got into the car. “We’re both confused about what we had just experienced,” the complaint stated. “I felt like I was sexually assaulted, but I tried to rationalize it because he’s a doctor.”

Another lawsuit accuses Mulholland of making sexually inappropriate comments, inappropriately touching the patient, and penetrating her with his fingers in a sexual manner in January 2023. Both lawsuits claim that the alleged sexual abuse served no medical purpose.

Mulholland could not be reached for comment on the allegations, and information about his attorney remains unavailable. However, the lawsuits allege that Providence, Kadlec, and the Kadlec clinic have received multiple complaints about Mulholland over the years. According to the suits, these complaints were often rationalized, normalized, and minimized, leading to them being dismissed without serious consideration.

Kadlec did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuits also reference past incidents, such as an example from 2017 where a patient complained to a nurse that Mulholland conducted an internal exam without gloves and restrained her from getting up by pressing down on her with one hand. He allegedly grabbed the inner part of her thigh and told her to relax.

In another instance, the lawsuits allege that in June 2023, a patient complained to a doctor at the clinic that Mulholland made sexual comments and performed internal exams with such force that she bled for several days. The lawsuits claim that these complaints were disregarded in an effort to conceal the danger Mulholland allegedly posed to patients, allowing him to continue working at the clinic.

Mallory Allen, a partner at the law firm that filed the lawsuits, expressed concern over the pattern of abuse by individuals in positions of trust. “Unfortunately, this is part of a pattern we've seen time and again—people in positions of immense trust and power abusing others at their most vulnerable, while the institutions sworn to protect them fail to act.”

Both women who filed the lawsuits suffered severe emotional and psychological distress, as well as personal physical injury, according to the legal documents. They are seeking damages for negligence, gender-based discrimination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, though the amount they are seeking has not been disclosed.

Dr. Mulholland, 58, is no longer practicing at the Kadlec clinic, according to hospital officials. He became a member of the Kadlec medical staff in late 1999, the same year he was licensed to practice medicine in Washington state.

The Washington Medical Commission charged Mulholland with unprofessional conduct on April 29, alleging that he lacked appropriate boundaries with patients. The commission’s statement of charges included allegations that he made inappropriate comments about patients’ physical appearances, including body shaming overweight patients and making implied sexual comments about their vaginas. He is also accused of pulling a patient’s pants down without asking for permission during a bedside ultrasound and not draping the patient properly.

Additionally, Mulholland is accused of making inappropriate comments toward female staff members, such as commenting on their weight, asking them to show him their breasts, or inquiring about whether they planned to cheat on their husbands. The state document listed reports of three patients who described medical appointments in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

A Kennewick law firm, Tamaki Law, is also investigating claims regarding Mulholland but has not yet filed a lawsuit.